Page 4 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

I visited her often, dropping by to fix things around the inn or saying hello when she was at my parents’ place. She knew I loved hiking the trails around the inn.

My pulse picked up. Holy fuck. Katherine had given us the inn.

Panic filtered into my mind. With the long hours I put in at my company, I didn’t have time to run Katherine’s inn.

My mom patted my shoulder and dropped a set of keys into my hand. “There you go.”

Sadie stared at the keys in her hand, blinking.

“We’ll be in touch regarding documents throughout the probate period,” the lawyer was saying. She gave us a big smile. “Congratulations. Please reach out if you have questions.” She closed her folder and stood.

“That’s it?” Sadie croaked in disbelief. I fought the urge to take her hand. It wasn’t like that with us.

The lawyer paused with a confused expression.

Sadie glanced around the room at each of us with disbelief. “You’re just giving us the inn? Is there a handbook?”

The lawyer smiled. “You’re going to be fine.”

We stared at her.

“This is not going to be fine,” Sadie told her before she let out a delirious laugh. “I don’t know how to run an inn. I’m an interior designer. This is going to be a disaster.”

Her words from that summer replayed in my head and my shoulders tightened. Being stuck with me was her nightmare. I scowled harder.

Now we owned an inn together.

Fuck.

I stood, eager to get out of here so I could think. “I have to go to work.”

The lawyer gave me a pleasant nod. “I’ll be in touch.”

I stalked out of the office and onto Main Street and raked my hand through my hair, trying to get it together, but a flurry of noise and excitement at the end of the street caught my attention. The door opened behind me.

“Oh my god,” Sadie murmured, standing beside me on the sidewalk.

The drum beat started and the high school marching band moved in formation down the street. They were off beat, out of tune, and kept veering off course as they played. Behind them, a line of people followed, carrying a sign across them.

Congratulations!

Beneath the word, our names had been scribbled.

Sadie looked up at me with those mossy green eyes and my heart clutched.

She was so pretty, and I was so, so fucked.

I remembered the promise I made Katherine before she passed. My eyebrows pulled together in a frown.

Sadie watched as the parade passed us, and burst out laughing. “This town is fucking weird.”

3

Sadie

After the weirdparade to celebrate our inheritance was over, I watched as Holden stomped off to go glare at newborn puppies or whatever he did in his spare time.

Elizabeth’s hand landed on my shoulder and she studied me with a soft smile. “It’s so good to see you, sweetie.”

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